Love Cervere reigns supreme in Listed $150K License Fee
Love Cervere remained a perfect 4-for-4 on the Belmont at the Big A outer turf course and at the six-furlong distance as she bested seven other older fillies and mares in Sunday’s Listed $150,000 License Fee.
Trained by Miguel Clement for owners Edward Seltzer, Beverly Anderson, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief took advantage of a confident ride by Manny Franco as she settled in next to last in the eight-horse field as Mega Mil set honest fractions of 22.97 seconds and 46.03 for the first half mile over the firm footing.
After moving closer on the turn and being angled out into the five path, Love Cervere rallied through the lane on the outside to take over from a determined Mega Mil inside the eighth pole. With a sixteenth of a mile left to go and aided by strong encouragement from her rider, she crossed the wire three-quarter lengths in front of the fast-closing Cynane, who was partnered with Flavien Prat.
Love Cervere covered the distance in the fleet final time of 1:09.70, and Cynane finished another half-length in front of Buttercream Babe with Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons. Mega Mil faded to fourth, followed by Civetta, Jody's Pride, So Sophia, and Do Gooder. Lost and Found and All Class, entered for the main track only, were scratched.
Franco said he was pleased with the way the race unfolded for his filly.
"I got the trip that I wanted. I was hoping for pace. I got a little bit of pace, so I rode my filly with confidence. I took back. I made one run on the outside. It worked out great," said Franco. "The pace wasn't fast. At the same time, I knew they were going at it a little bit. I was going to sit and come running at the end. That's what I did. She had a nice turn-of-foot at the end."
Prat termed the pace of the race as "even", saying, "The pace was neither fast nor slow. That was a very good race from her. I thought I was behind a good horse [Jody's Pride], unfortunately, she didn't carry me much. Then I had to go around, but she made a good run."
Love Cervere, who paid $7.66 for a $2 win bet, is now a three-time stakes winner here after capturing the Grade 3 Glen Cove at six furlongs for her connections October 11 and the Take the A Train last May.
“I thought maybe they went a touch slow early on, but she was good enough to overcome it,” Clement said. “She’s undefeated here at Aqueduct, 4-for-4 over this turf course.
“Maybe we want to keep Aqueduct one more year just for her,” he added, with a laugh. “She’s a very talented filly. Every time you run her at six [furlongs] or six and a half, you really get a great performance. Sometimes we have to run her a bit shorter than ideal, but she still delivers.”
In her previous outing, Clement brought Love Cervere back from a five-month break on April 12 to begin her 2026 campaign in the Grade 2 Giant's Causeway at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Keeneland green. Never a factor that day, she ran seventh. While getting some class relief in the License Fee, she rebounded beautifully.
“I think you can blame me for Keeneland. I got it wrong at Keeneland, and take nothing away from the filly. I blame myself 100 percent, and that’s what gave us the confidence to run her back here 20 days later, and she was good enough to do so. The filly is top-class, genuine, and she’s very consistent. She’s a dream to train," her conditioner said.
Clement said he is contemplating the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental on June 4 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course for Love Cervere's next start.
“Unfortunately, you have to look at the Intercontinental next, which is five and a half, and we’ll fall in that same trap. But I think you have to dance every dance, and the logical next step is to run in the Intercontinental and support our friends at NYRA," Clement said.
Love Cervere improved to 5-2-2 in 11 outings and increased her earnings to $464,891 with the $82,500 winner's portion of the purse. She was bred in Kentucky by Edward and Beverly Seltzer.
Live racing resumes Thursday at Belmont at the Big A with an eight-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races presents live coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont at the Big A, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
